Noodles are used to fill gaps in structural joints of complex structures, such as aircraft. In some structural joints, such as those formed between layers of composite material, a gap may be formed between the layers. To strengthen and improve the performance of the structural joint, a noodle is positioned within the gap of the structural joint.
Some noodles are formed of a stack of plies, each made of a composite material. Often, the gap has a cross-sectional shape with a narrow tip. Manufacturing a noodle, made from a stack of plies of composite material, to have a narrow tip can be difficult. Conventional manufacturing processes includes separating the manufacturing of a base of the noodle from the manufacturing of a tip of the noodle, often using different types of manufacturing processes. Then, in a subsequent assembly step, the pre-made tip is attached to the pre-made base to complete the noodle. Furthermore, conventional manufacturing processes are not automated, but require manual cutting and aligning of individual plies and manual attaching of tips and bases, which can be cumbersome, labor-intensive, and time-consuming.